B E G I N N I N G T O E N D . . .

When it comes to learning, I am extremely visual. Even though it’s only been four days since I arrived at JUC, I am already seeing a difference in the way I read my Bible. No longer do I catch myself checking out when I read through the names of places Jesus visited; instead vivid images and sensory data floods my mind. I see colors, winding roads, types of trees, valleys and their names. I envision the City of David as easily as I would imagine Upland Indiana. I can’t tell you how much this excites me, and how much new found depth it brings to the Word. Hallelujah.

For me, the overarching theme of today was Jesus’ sacrificial decisions for us, from His birth to crucifixion. Though a little out of order, today we essentially visited where Jesus came into the world, and where He made the decision to face death for us. Starting out at Mt. Scopus, we were able to see and step inside a tomb, much like the one Jesus was buried in.

M T . S C O P U S

Next we went to a different vantage point on the same range of mountains where we dug into the role of the shepherd, and where they fell into the Israelite culture. The shepherd’s’ sole role is to protect the sheep at all costs; this was achieved by guiding them to safe pastures, safeguarding against predators, and ultimately being willing to be observant, flexible, and resourceful. To those living in the city, shepherds were considered the equivalent of white trash- looked down upon because of the disgusting nature of their work, and the humble standing of the position. And yet Jesus called Himself our “good shepherd”. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” { john 10: 14, 15 }

View from Mt. Scopus.

View of wilderness from Mt. Scopus

M O U N T O F O L I V E S

Next we went to the Mount of Olives from the view of the Jewish Cemetery. Here Vern lectured on the David-Absalom dynamic, and how David essentially dishonored his family by not addressing the whole Amnon-Tamar issue, and how Absalom took matters into his own hands and so brought honor to his own family. Absalom’s winning over of the people and declaring himself king in Hebron (Judah’s capital) and David’s subsequent flight from Jerusalem I found interesting because of our vantage point. Overlooking the boxes (essentially tombs above ground) of the cemetery, Jerusalem was directly in front of us. The temple, Old City, and the City of David were all easily identifiable. Add to this the fact that David retreated to the East, over the Mt. of Olives (where we were standing), and all of a sudden I can envision the entire story, watching it take place before my very eyes as I gaze at the Old City. Cool, right? Oh, and one last interesting detail- Vernon made the point that David was like a prototype of his descendant, the Messiah. He wept for Jerusalem and its people when he retreated into exile from his own son. He rejoiced to return to Jerusalem, while still mourning the death of his son. Jesus does likewise in Luke 19:41: “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.” In the words of our instructor, “Jesus affirms the natural human revolt of death; it’s not natural. We were built and made for communion with God.”

The gray dome on the left side is the Temple Mount (steps just below) ; left of the steps and across the street is the City of David ; further left and down in the Kidron valley.

G A R D E N O F G E T H S E M A N E

Popularly known for where Jesus said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death… My father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not my will, but as you will” (Matthew 26: 38, 39). Luke 22:44 describes the intensity of the event: “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood.” Jesus was human; He was scared spit-less of what he would undergo in the next 48 hours. He was about to undergo literal torture and murder, while carrying on his shoulders the heavy weight of an eternities worth of sin. And he could have retreated. He could have slipped off, up the east side of the Mt. of Olives that he was already on. No one would have known. But instead he poured his heart out to his dad, telling Him his fears, letting Him feel the anguish of his soul. And then he says, “I know you know as well as I what these next few days will entail; you know how much I am about to suffer. But I will do what ask of me- I’m putting your plan first, even though it will literally kill me.” And then he waited for one of his close friends to come and betray him. Have I ever been so loyal to anything or anyone that I would be willing to lose a kidney for it/him or her? Um I’d like to think I’d give someone I love dearly a kidney if his or her life depended on it. But even that would take a lot of convincing of myself. Kidney is hard. How much harder is death? How much harder the most painful form of death. Oh, and the weight of the world on your shoulders. Lord, I am utterly amazed by you. Over and over again today I have been cognitively singing, Jesus paid it all All to Him I owe Sin had left a crimson stain He washed it white as snow

Olive trees in the garden. The trees constantly grow outward in diameter, but the tree itself is hollow.

Gate surrounding the garden.

T H E H I L L O F E V I L C O U N S E L

“…the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” { john 11:47-50 } Next we crossed from Benjamin into Judah, and went to the Hill of Evil Counsel. This is where the verse above is said to have taken place. From this vantage point we were able to view the southern portion of Jerusalem. It was at this point that I started to catch on to the fact that we were hitting the key locations leading up to Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion. And I’m not going to lie, it was hard to stand on that hill and dwell on the fact that you are standing on the same ground that Caiaphas and the Pharisees were standing on when they made a decision that set into motion the beginning of the end.

H E R O D I A N F O R T R E S S

Here we lunched at the summit of the mountain that Herod’s fortress overlooking Bethlehem was built upon. Once we went up, you could see all of Bethlehem, stretching for miles, following the curve of the land. Beyond this we could actually see the wilderness where David likely shepherded his father’s sheep. Beyond this lies the Dead Sea. I found it odd to stand on his fortress looking over at Bethlehem, knowing that the man who lived here gave the decree to kill all the boys two years or younger. We also went down into Herod’s fortress (or what’s left of it anyways), and there we gathered in what was once his dining hall. Bases of the pillars outlined the space. Here Vern explained to us the cultural significance of meals served in this period. Essentially when you walked into the dining space immediately to your left would be the right hand man to the host. This “second-in-command” figure would sit directly to the right of the host, and the honored guest would sit to his left. This was considered the most honored seat in the house, making you the cat’s meow if you were sitting to the left of your host. Following this order, the level of significance of each guest was measured by how closely they were seated to the guest of honor. The seats wrapped around the table to the other side, leaving the lowliest spot to be the seat directly across from the hosts’ right hand man. This was helpful for me in explaining Jesus’ teaching to take the lowest seat in the house instead of the place of honor (the first will be last, and the last will be first). After explaining this, Vernon started unpacking the Last Supper; it blew my mind. John was placed to the right of Jesus (not surprising). What’s more interesting is that Peter was most likely directly across from John, in the lowest place. Now for the icing on the cake- guess who is directly to Jesus’ left? Judas. After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.” His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. { john 13:21-27 } Jesus loved Judas. Jesus loved the ultimate scoundrel- the Brutus. The friend willing to murder you for his own personal gain. Hours before his betrayal, Jesus is paying this man the highest honor. Words can’t do it justice. It brings tears to my eyes when I try to fathom this truly endless love.

Ruins of Herod's Fortress

Tower of the fortress

Sitting on Herod's Fortress with the Wilderness behind us.

Dining hall where lecture on the Last Supper was given

B E T H L E H E M | S H E P H E R D ' S F I E L D S

Taking our sherut (bus) down into Bethlehem made for a short trip. Upon arriving, we made our way to the Shepherd’s Fields, where we jumped into a lecture on the birth of Jesus. Here are my key takeaways: 1. Mary and Joseph would have been staying with extended family who lived in Bethlehem, not an inn. 2. When Luke 2 says that, “there was no room for them in the inn”, it is saying that there were no guest rooms available for Mary & Joseph to stay in. 3. The storage room however, was available. 4. This was a room that was used for storing sheep indoors during the winter months (I can attest to the fact that it is cold!). 5. These storage rooms would have contained tools, including a manger to feed the sheep from. 6. This part of the house was naturally not as nice, and often were built into a cave. 7. Jesus was most likely born in summer or fall (“Shepherds were living out in their fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night”).

View of Bethlehem from Herod's Fortress

See above

B E T H L E H E M | C H U R C H O F T H E N A T I V I T Y

Here is where we ended the day- where it is said that Jesus’ life began. I guess it was nice to think that I might have touched the rock of the cave that Jesus was born into, but there’s very little of me that actually thinks that is the spot. Still, it’s a fun thought to toy with. And it was great to end at a location that symbolizes new life in birth since we began the day at a tomb.